Device for erecting elevator towers



Oct. 21, 1958 A. T. JONES 'DEVICE FOR ERECTING ELEVATOR TOWERS Filed Sept. 50, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet i vZZ Z IN -illl 2. 1 XXX J Oct. 21, 1958 A. T. JONES DEVICE FOR ERECTING ELEVATOR TOWERS Filed Sept. so, 1955 6 Sheets-"Sheet 2 Oct. 21, 1958 A. T. JONES DEVICE FOR ERECTING ELEVATOR TOWERS Filed Sept. 30,- 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 21, 1958 A. T JONES DEVICE FOR ERECTING ELEVATOR TOWERS s Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 50, 1955 1720672 on \7 M Oct. 21, 1958 A. 'r. JONES v 2,857,026

- DEVICEFOR ERECTING ELEVATOR TOWERS V F iled Sept, 30, 1955 e Sheets-Sheet 6 United States atent DEVICE FOR ERECTING ELEVATOR TOWERS Addis T. J ones; Evanston; Ill.,: assignor to Thomas Hoist Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporationof-Illinois ApplicationiSeptemb'er 30; 1955; SerialNO; 537761 4-Claims.-- (Cl- 189'-13) l The present invention relates generally to I a, device for erecting elevator towers and is more particularly directed to a hoist-{assembly for use in-the? erection of towerswhich: are formed of prefabricated. panels;

fTheerec-tion of 'elevatontowers which are to housed in handling building 1 materials duringathe construction of a -building-has-been {simplified somewhat through the use ofprefabricated panels which are mounted on;top ofone another inpa'rallel stands and wherein 'each'set of parallel panels is connected together-by suitable crossbracing.- HoWever,-,-due; to the diflicult-y;- in handling heavier and larger panels, the use of prefabricated panels in elevator towers has been generally limited to lightweight tower construction.

It' is-the principal object of. the present invention to provide novel and improved means for handling, prefabricated panels in--the erection of towers, particularly panels which are of a Weight'and/or size requiring a mechanical hoisting means. A further object is to provide a-hoistassemblyfor handling such panels, which moves upwardly along withthe tower as-the'latter is beingerected,- and which does not require anydis mantlingof the hoistassembly or'the, use ofadditional lift means to provide suchupward movement-forthe hoist assembly. Other objects and advantages will: become apparent in the following-discussion of selected embodiments of the invention and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is an end elevation of an elevator; tower in position;

Fig. -2 isafront. elevation of the elevator tower illustrated in Fig.- l; Fig; 3 is an enlarged front view of the upper end of a-partiallyerected elevator tower 'witha hoist assembly in accordance with the'present invention in position forpositioning panels in. the next higher section to be erected.

Fig.4 is an end'view of the structure in :Fig. 3, as seen from-the right inthe' latter figure; -,-Fig. 5 .is a-plan view ofthestructure in Fig. 3; Fig.6 is anenlar'ged fragmentary view ofsthe, structure in Fig. 3;

.Fig. 7 is an; enlarged, sectional1view taken along line 71 in;;Fig. 6; .-Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional; viewutaken along the line 8.8 inFig. 6; 1

Fig. 9 is a side view of a modified form of-the in ven i n; v I Fig. 10 isa-plan view of the. modificationinFig. 9; Fig 11 is an enlarged sectional View taken along the line' lI-Jl inIFig. 9;

Fig; 12 is a front view of 'a further modification embodying the present invention; and 'Fig; 13 is-an end view of the structure in Fig; 12. Withreference/first to Figs. 1 and 2, it isseen that the" invention is shown in connection with a dO uble tower. 20 disposed on a rectangular base '22 adjacent the rbuildingwiindicatedat 24; which is beinge'rected. l he baseZflZr-includes 1o1.i;r --,:corne y-posts 26 aswell astwo intermediatemosts-J-S gand themain towerstructure is comprised; of prefabricatedend panels 30 and intermediate;;panel;s ;.32-i:w-hich. arepdetachably connected. together byqhorizontal,.braccsor gins-p34 and .diagonal braces 36. All of.;theqprefabricatedaendi and ,inter mediate panel sections are identical in construction, and each panel comprises a pain ofetubular leg. members 38- (Fig.,4) forming verticallyextendingmembers which are secured together in.spaced;iparallel relation by a'horizontal member 40 .andapair of-.-diagonal.members 42. Although it is preferred tha 'theseg-members of v the. panel be welded in place, theyamay bebolted orotherwise suitably secured togetherin, the .prefiabrication; of,;the panels. One end of-each of the :tubhlatslcgrmembers;38; has welded or otherwise. fixedlynpositioned therein a; pin 44 whichprojects abovedheefid of. thesleg and is adapted to beinserted in. the 1hollow'-';end=of the. similarleg member of another-panel.

1 Each ofthe end-qpanelsfitl also includes a center guide rail 46 (Figs 5);.which isadisposed inwardly of the horizontal member. 40=i-and theidiag'onal braces 42; and this guide rail :isisuitablwseerired to =these members in parallel relation-to the'planeaof =the leg members 38. This guide railalsogincludes a projectingpin 48 which is adapted torbe,-inserted in=the hollow end of a similar guide rail on a -verticallwalignedrpanel; 1 Although the pins 44 and48 in theillustratedpanels 30 are shown as projecting- -from the.-.top=.oftthejpanel, it will:- be apparent that otherrldispositions ofisthesemins will-provide a satisfactory interlocking of the endipfanels as. they, are disposed Orr/top" ofone anothen. .f

:The intermediate prefabricated panels 32.are similar to thosejustdescribed; inllthat they include a pair of leg members. sllrjoined 'togetherby a cross member 52' and a pair ofadiagonalr bracesp 53;-butrdifier therefrom in that they include :a,pai1-.-of;-Iguide-rails' 54 which are dis- Posed,OILGOPPOSltGuSidCS'Of the panel. The guide rails 54 also includeprojeet'ingipins 56. These guide rails 54 together.with -the. guide; rails? son the' end panels 30 provide theatraclc onguide, for the, elevator-cages and, consequently; therinter'mcdiate panel 32 must necessarily include a guide. rail: for; the ycageZ in each of. the two bays? of -the; double ztOWfiIL mAs; noted particularly in; ,Fig; 2; the double tower is erected by; placing. apair of end panels 30 on the corner posts 26 at thesbase, and an intermediate panel 32 011 the center posts2-8 The prefabricated endand intermediate. panels are then secured together by the horizontal girts;.34aand diagonal braces 36,- which may be bolted or.otherwise' fixed in place. The succeeding sections ofthetowenarmerected by moving additional panels into locking engagement with. those already in position,;through:telescopic engagement of the pins 44, 48' and 5.6 in the alreadyerected panels with the hollow endiportions of the.cornplementary panel sections form ing the upperstower section. The newly erected panels are similarly.) secured. togetherby means of horizontal girts.-:34 andediagonal:braces 36. f, 'Thetoweriscompleted;at=the;top thereof by the addition of -the, usual .1cathead '60; which. supports a plurality of sheaves 62,: 6.4, 66::and- 68 over which are trained the cables 7,0:and ,72:for: operating the two elevator cages (not shown Theloiwer end' ofthecables: are disposed around .a. pair ofiwsheaves 74 and '76 adjacent the base of ythettowenaand:suitableipowerdriven winches or the like (pot shown) :are:pr'oidedfor raising and; lowering thetcages. g *While "the prefabricated panel construction described above greatly facilitatesaathe erection of towers for buildinghoists, there has beencohsiderable-difliculty in positioning the panels in-pl'ace.- In heavy duty towers these 3 panels are often quite large as well as heavy and are difiicult to handle at the height involved.

The present invention provides means: for positioning the component members of the tower, which includes a hoist assembly that is readily and easily movable upwardly with the erection of the tower and, therefore, greatly simplifies the erection task. One embodiment of such means is illustrated in Fig. 3, wherein a panel hoist assembly 80 is shown in position on the tower being erected.

As seen particularly in Figs. 3 through 8, the panel hoist assembly 80 comprises a pair of tubular posts 82 forming vertical erecting members which support a boom structure 84 at their upper end in fixed, transverse relation thereto. The posts 82 each have a longitudinal section 86 thereof cut away below the boom 84, and these posts have suitable diameters and are suitably spaced apart so that each is adapted to slidingly fit in telescopic engagement with one of the pair of guide posts 46 and 54 which are located in one bay of the tower. As seen in Figures 6 and 8 the lower end portions of the posts82 extend circumferentially a sufficient extent to prevent the posts 82 from moving sideways after they engage the posts 46 and 54.

The boom structure 84 comprises an I-beam which is fixed adjacent one end and at an intermediate portion to the upper ends of the posts 82 by means including a pair of tubular T-shaped frames 87 which are welded or otherwise secured to the posts 82. The supporting post 82 adjacent the end of the boom 84 extends above the latter and is braced with respect to the other supporting post and a tubular member 89 which projects outwardly from the supporting post 82 adjacent the end of the boom by means of a long diagonal member 88 and a shorter diagonal brace 90, respectively.

The lower end of the supporting posts 82 each include one or more transverse openings 92 (Fig. 7) therethrough which are alignable with a similar opening 94 in the guide posts 46 and 54 to accommodate a pin 96 (Fig. 3) or the like for locking the two members together. Each of the posts 82 are preferably strengthened, along their side facing away from the guide posts, by a channel member 98 which is welded to the tubular post. The r lower end of this'channel member has supported thereon a small Windlass 100' of suitable construction, which includes a cable 102 having a hook 104 onits outer end.

As noted particularly in Figs. 3 and 4, the hooks 104 are adapted to engage the horizontal'girts 40 and 52 of supporting prefabricated panels 30 and 32, and the entire hoist assembly 80 can then be raised relative to the tower by operation of the windlasses 100. When the hoist 80 has reached the desired height above the erected portion of the tower, it is locked in place by the pins 96. The free end portion of the boom 84 is preferably supported at the outer end of the other bay by a pivotally mounted strut 106, which includes a suitable bearing element .108 at its lower end for engaging the underlying girt 40.

The lower flanges of the I-beam 84 provide a track for'receiving a pair of rollers 110 which. support a pulley block 112, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4. The pulley block 112 includes a carrying hook 113 and a cable 114 which may be manually operated from the top of the tower- A second pulley 116 and cable 118 are carried at the end of the boom 84 forraising the panels and other structural members from the ground level to a positionfadjacent the: pulley block 112, where they can be readily transferred to the later and then moved alongthe boom 84;

It will be noted particularly in Figs. 3 and 6 that thetubular supporting posts 82 for the hoist assembly 80 are cut away a sufficient extent along their. length, in order to readily accommodate and 'guidetthe positioning of a panel in interlocking relation with the panel supporting the hoist so that the pins 44, 48, and 5610f the previously erected panels telescopically engage the hollow lower ends of the complementary members 38, 46 and 54, respec tively, of the newly positioned panel.

With the newly erected panels in place and tied together with the girts 34 and diagonal braces 36, the cable hooks 104 can be moved to the horizontal members 40 of the newly erected panels. Upon removal of the pins 96 and operation of the cable reels 100, the hoist assembly is then raised to an elevated position where it can be used for erecting the next section of the tower. The hoist is again locked in place at its new position by means of the pins 96.

Thus it is seen that the hoist assembly 80 is readily moved upwardly with the erection of the tower, through operation of the windlasses to slide the tubular members 82 relative to the guide rails 46 and 54, and that such upward movement of the hoist requires no dismantling of the hoist assembly or displacement thereof relative to thetower. Further, the entire handling of the heavy and prefabricated panels is easily accomplished through the use of the pulleys 116 and 112 which are provided on thehoist.

Another form of the invention 118 is seen in Figs. 9-11. In this particular embodiment, the supporting frame 120 for the boom 122 is rectangular in shape and includes four corner members 124. Each of the frame members 124 are tubular in form, with a longitudinal section 125 thereof removed (Fig. 11) so that the members 124 can telescopically engage and become slidably interlocked with the panel end members 38 and 50. Thus it is seen that the hoist is supported on all four corners of one bay of the tower.

The corner members 124 are braced along opposite sides by a pair of horizontal angle members 126, which are disposed at upper and lower portions of the hoist frame, respectively, and which are double laced with diagonal braces 128. Additional bracing is provided by a pair of channel members which are welded or otherwise secured to the upper ends of-the corner members 124 in transverse relation to the angle members 126. These channel members 130 also have fixed thereto the boom 122 which carries a movable pulley block 132 and a stationary pulley 134 similar to those described for the principal embodiment of Figs. l-8.

As seen in Figs. 9 and 11, the central portions of the corner members 124 are cut away a suflicient extent to receive a panel therebetween in fitted relation to the underlying panel on the erected portion of the tower, in a manner similar to that described for the previous embodiment. Further, there is provided suitable alignable openings in the corner members 124 and in the panel end members 38 and 50, which are adapted to receive pins 136 to lock the hoist frame in position relative to the tower. In order to raise the hoist frame 120 as the tower is being erected, there is provided a Windlass 138 on each of the lower angle members 126 which operates a cable 140 having a hook 142 at one end thereof. By securing the hooks 142 on the horizontal girts 34 (Fig. 9) and then operating the windlasses 138, the entire hoist assembly 118 can be moved upwardly along the four corner posts 38 and 50. It will be noted that in this particular embodiment the elevator guide rails 46 and 54 are not used in connection with the hoist assembly 118. Consequently, this construction is particularly useful in connec tion with the erection of towers which do not include guide rails for the elevator cage in the manner previously described.

Still another embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13, wherein a double hoist arrangement is shown in connection with a single tower. The tower is otherwise generally similar in its structure to that discussed above, and each section of the tower includes a pair of the prefabricated panels 30 having end members 38, cross girts 40 and a pair of diagonal braces 42. The two panels are interconnected by a horizontal brace 34 and a pair of diagonal braces 36. Each of the prefabricated panels include a center guide post 46, and the upper ends of the corner members 38 and guide posts 46 include projecting pins 44 and 48, respectively.

The hoist assembly 150 includes a pair of vertically extending, tubular support members 152, which include a longitudinally extending cut away section 154 and a min forcing channel member 156 in the manner of the member 82 described above. The lower portion of the sup ports 152 is adapted to slidingly fit over the guide posts 46 and can be locked in place relative thereto by a pin 158 which extends through alignable openings in the support member 152 and the guide post 46.

A Windlass 160, including a cable 162 having a hook 164 at its end, is mounted at the lower end of each of the hoist supports 152. Operation of these windlasses is efiective to raise the entire hoist assembly relative to the erected portion of the tower.

The two support members 152 are interconnected and braced by a horizontal member 166 at the top and a pair of diagonal struts 168. Adjacent the upper end of each member 152 there is positioned a pulley 170 which is supported on a projecting frame member 172 having a brace 174 extending from its outer end to the upper end of the hoist support member 152. A cable 176 extends around the pulley 170 and includes a hook 178 at one end for supporting a panel as it is hoisted into position on the tower.

It is seen, therefore, that there is provided herein means for erecting a building tower of prefabricated panels, which remains integral with the tower throughout its erection and eliminates the need for lifting or maneuvering panels by hand. Further, it is seen that the principles of this invention are applicable whether the tower to be erected is a single or double bay tower, and whether or not an elevator guide rail is employed.

Although shown and described with respect to particular structures, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments may be employed without departing from the principles of this invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, an elevator tower for handling building materials and comprised of superposed sections each including a pair of prefabricated side panels having vertically extending guide rails defining the path of the elevator to be placed in said tower, a hoist assembly comprising a pair of spaced-apart, vertical members which have their lower end portions telescopically engaging said vertically extending guide rails of the uppermost, erected section of said tower, means for releasably locking said vertical members in fixed position relative to said guide rails, means fixedly interconnecting the upper ends of said vertical members and including elements for movably supporting a prefabricated panel so as to position the latter in vertically extending relation to said erected tower section to form an additional section of the tower, and means on said hoist assembly for engaging said additional section of said tower and operable to eifect relative movement between said hoist assembly and said additional section when said locking means is released, whereby said hoist assembly can be moved upwardly along said guide rails to a position of support by said additional section of said tower.

2. In combination, an elevator tower for handling building materials and comprised of superposed sections each having a pair of parallel, prefabricated side panels, each of said side panels including a vertically extending guide rail intermediate its ends which is vertically aligned with similarly disposed guide rails on the other sections comprising said tower, at hoist assembly comprising a pair of spaced-apart, vertical members, a generally horizontal boom member supported on the upper end portions of said vertical members, the lower end portions of said vertical members being tubular and telescopically engaged with the vertically extending guide rails of an erected section of said tower, means for releasably looking said vertical members in fixed position relative to said guide rails, a pulley block disposed for movement along said boom member to raise and position prefabricated panels relative to the uppermost section of said tower in the erection of an additional section for the tower, and means carried by each of said vertical members for engaging said additional section and which is operable, upon release of said locking means, to effect upward movement of said hoist assembly along said guide rails to a position of support by said additional section of the tower, said locking means and said additional section including parts cooperable to effect a locking of said vertical members relative to the guide rails on said additional section.

3. In combination, an elevator tower comprised of a plurality of superposed sections each including a pair of prefabricated side panels having vertically extending guide rails defining the path of an elevator to be placed in said tower, a hoist assembly comprising a pair of spaced-apart, vertical members which have their lower end portions telescopically engaging the vertically ex tending guide rails of an erected section of said tower upon which an upper section is to be erected, means releasably locking said vertical members in fixed position relative to said guide rails on said erected section, means interconnecting said vertical members in fixed relation to each other, a pulley means at the upper end portion of each of said vertical members which is adapted to raise a prefabricated panel into a position overlying said erected panels which provide the support for said vertical members, whereby said upper section of said tower may be erected by thus positioning a pair of side panels and interconnecting same by additional bracing members, and means carried by each of said vertical members which is adapted to engage the side panel of said upper section and which is operable, upon release of said locking means, to effect upward movement of said hoist assembly to a position of support by said upper section.

4. In combination with an elevator tower comprised of superposed sections each including a pair of prefabricated side panels having end members disposed in aligned relation with the end members of the other sections of said tower, a hoist assembly, said hoist assembly comprising a frame structure including four corner members having their lower end portions telescopically engaging the end members of the side panels of the uppermost section of said tower, means adapted to releasably lock said corner members against movement relative to said uppermost section of the tower, means carried by the upper portion of said frame structure for raising and positioning additional panel members to thereby erect a further section of the tower, and means carried by the lower por tion of said frame structure which is adaptable to engage said further section and which is operable, upon release of said locking means, to effect upward movement of said hoist assembly to a position of support by said further section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,093,257 Donaldson Apr. 14, 1914 1,758,389 Bushnell May 19, 1930 1,853,086 Scannell Apr. 12, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS 311,568 Great Britain May 16, 1929 

